Road to Haven
by PockyNerd
Summary: With new life growing and the threat pass 9, 7, and the Twins try to find their place in the world. After years of searching a stitchpunk claiming to be the first of their kind gives them a new job; help her find Haven and tell the humans that she's hidden that everything is safe. However, 0's habit of keeping secrets makes her hard to trust.
1. Before our heros

The Scientist sat down in his desk with a doll in his hands. It had to work! If it didn't all hope for humanity and life was lost. The doll he held was nothing more than something she threw together in a few minutes. The stitching was terrible, the hands were mostly torn but there were other things that made it beautiful like the angular face and the necklace made of small animal bones. It was pretty small, smaller than he wanted the others to look, and the eyes and mouth were petite but the body was a little bigger than it should've been. It didn't have hair because each time she attached some material for hair on it would fall off almost immediately. It wasn't stuffed anymore because she convinced him to show her how the others would be wired. Now he knew why she wanted to know.

He felt tired. The old age and the burden of his creation made him tired and slow. While he waited for the doll to come to life he pulled out a leather bound notebook and started to write with whatever pen he found that actually had ink.

He wrote: _It is done. The orphan that comes around now and again preformed the first of the experiment that was supposed to have been preformed by me. She found everything and took it with her to her "home." She made it obvious and easy to find her. She knew I wouldn't have been home to see the note for hours. I guess I have only myself to blame for this mess…_

Before he could finish his entry some movement caught his eye. The doll moved! Although it staggered like a baby deer when it tried to walk. When it tried to speak no sound came out.

"Hold on." He said and searched for something that could be used like human vocal cords. He only found a voice chip that would normally have been used for a doll that repeated whatever was prerecorded. He opened up the doll via a zipper on its belly, which was a shame since that was where he originally planned on putting the numbers.

When the chip was installed and tweaked the doll smiled. The voice was nearly her own but it was different than when she was human. When she was human her voice was rough yet high-pitched and she spoke loudly for someone so small so that someone was almost forced to listen. The voice that spoke now was all girl there was no boy-like roughness to it. It was smooth and high pitched and so small you would ignore it. Somehow, though, her not-so-small voice came out underneath.

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Yes it did." There was a tired excitement to his voice. He grabbed his pen and turned her around. "I guess I should number you 1, huh?" He set the tip of his pen to her back.

"No." She twisted her body to look at him. "Save the number one for _your_ first creation. This one was a test. My number should be Zero." So that's what he wrote on her back. 0. "But I think I'll pronounce it differently. After all, Zero doesn't have a nice ring to it. Maybe something like…Cero? That's the Spanish number for Zero. How does Cero sound for a name?"

"Do you still have your memories?" He was hoping she didn't.

"Not a lot of them. A few of the more recent ones but even they're starting to fade."

 _She is still, perhaps, one of the greatest creations. Zero was the inspiration for the rest of my creations. I modified Zero as needed before she disappeared one night with little explanation. I do not know of Zero's whereabouts but I hope her mission is just as successful as 1 through 9._

He finally closed his notebook and looked out the window into the night. The blueprints for 3 and 4 were set off to the side for him to work on in the morning. He listened to the scurrying of the floor while 2 still wandered around the room, not even noticing that the Scientist missed his old, once human companion. It had been months since 0 visited. He doubted she ever would before his final creation. He didn't mind. The girl's soul, no matter the shell it was in, followed the wind like every orphan did during this time of chaos.

The outside alarms that told everyone of a possible bombing attack sounded near the heart of the city and slowly made it's way toward him.


	2. Zero

It felt like the destruction of The Machine took place years ago. 9 often came back to the Scientist's home to look through his things. There were endless things for him, 7, 3, and 4 to do now but often they were lost in what to do next. Didn't the Scientist leave some clues of what to do next?

This time 3 and 4 came along to help. That's what he told them to do, anyway, but they seemed to enjoy other tasks. They often still catalogued and were more curious now with the new green stuff growing from the ground than he'd ever seen them. 7 claimed that they were always this curious from the start.

He turned some pages in a book he looked at several times before hand. Nothing new stood out to him. He heard 3 and 4 click their eyes for several minutes. What were they looking at now? 9 didn't turn until they grabbed his hand and lead him to a leather bound book he's never seen before. They pointed to a passage that dated from before 1 was even created! The word they were pointing at was Zero.

"Is there another one like us?" He wondered aloud. Where was this 0 the whole time they were fighting? "Do you know 0?"

3 and 4 shook their heads and encouraged him to read the passage.

It read: _She is still, perhaps, one of the greatest creations. Zero was the inspiration for the rest of my creations. I modified Zero as needed before she disappeared one night with little explanation. I do not know of Zero's whereabouts but I hope her mission is just as successful as 1 through 9. It's too bad she wasn't able to meet any of my creations. Maybe she'll come around like she usually does. I hope and pray she will be okay._

"Zero…" 9 said the name aloud. It felt strange on his tongue. They had to find her!

The three of them walked back to their newly found home near where they released the souls of 8, 6, 5, 2, and 1. It wasn't much, there were a few rooms and some curtains that were put up haphazardly and a few other things to make it semi safe.

Soon after they arrived home 7 peeked from the curtain that separated her room from the hall. "Guys," she whispered, "come look at this."

3 and 4 were the first ones who snaked their way in to the room. 9 followed them but kept close to the doorway. On 7's bed was a stitchpunk that looked like them but it was stitched badly in many areas. Unlike 9, this one had many flaws.

The Twins looked up at 7 curiously before flipping it over. On it's back was the number 0. It seemed almost too easy to find her.

"Where did you find her?" He asked.

"She was wandering blindly and kept calling out different names. Names I've never heard of. When I approached she tried attacking me but for some reason she was weak." 7 watched as the Twins went to work checking on the mechanics inside of her. "How did you know it was a girl?" She never looked at him.

"I went back to the Scientist's house and 3 and 4 found a journal he kept. In one of the entries he said there was another. She's the first one of us."

She looked dumbfounded. "Does that mean there are more of us?"

9 opened his mouth to answer but they were distracted by a groaning sound. "What…what are you doing?" She shouted. The sudden outburst made the Twins hide behind them.

She was looking around, panicking. 9 walked over to her and grabbed her wrists so that she would stop moving around to look at him. "It's okay. We're friendly."

The longer he looked at her the more he realized how young she looked. Granted, they didn't age. How could they age? But even her eyes looked young.

"Old Man?" She looked into his eyes.

Behind him 7 giggled.

"No…you aren't him…" She finally concluded.

"I'm 9." He explained.

"Nine…" She repeated slowly. Some light bulb turned on in her head. "I'm Cero."

9 tilted his head. "Cero?"

She nodded. "Yep. Cero. It's easier to say than Zero for some people…which reminds me…I have to get back and…" As soon as 0 stood everyone could see why she staggered so much, her leg was torn.

"At least let us patch you up." 7 insisted. 0 seemed much more comfortable knowing there was another female in the group. 9 started to notice some similarities between the two; 7 and 0 both had angular faces and smaller eyes and mouth. They both had some bones hanging from somewhere, 7 preferred wearing hers near her head while 0 had hers hanging from her neck. Their bodies were a lot smaller too, but 0's could be from being the first stitchpunk made. She must not have been small at first because there was a lot of stitching around her body or perhaps she just injured herself too often.

9 noticed other similarities such as she was the same height as the Twins and like him she had a zipper on her belly instead of something else to hold everything inside. Her hands reminded him of 1. Were there other similarities he wasn't catching?

"Now try walking on it." 7 instructed. 0 walked around the bed.

"Thanks." She said.

3 and 4 felt comfortable enough with 7 there to scurry over and check out 0. 0 laughed. "Okay I get it now."

"Get what?" 7 sat on her bed.

"I knew the Scientist for a time. Their curiosity and childishness stem from apart of him, doesn't it? You all do." She allowed them to open up her zipper and check her mechanics. Their eyes clicked in quick vibrations that still memorized 9. "I used to call him 'Old Man.'" She turned the Twins around to look at their back. "3 and 4…" She looked up at 7 who showed her back. "7…and 9. Where's 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8?"

The room suddenly grew tense and solemn. 0 didn't need an answer. "I see. That's too bad. And the Talisman?"

"Hidden." 9 answered.

"Is the Machine still shut down?"

7 answered, "Destroyed."

"I will have to hear your stories another time. I have to find my friends." She started walking outside. Everyone followed.

"There are more of us?" 9 sounded hopeful, the hopefulness in his voice even caught him slightly off guard. He's never heard himself like this.

"Not exactly. We are the only one of our kind. I was able to keep a few humans safe and just outside of the noxious gas that poisoned the city in a place called Haven. But due to some wind and storms and beasts I can't seem to find Haven again." The sun was going down now.

The Twins looked at each other, the clicking of their eyes told everybody they were asking each other questions. 7 spoke up as if she were their voice, "What beasts?" By the looks on the Twins' faces that wasn't the question they wanted answered.

"Well you guys know the vegetation of this land is slowly returning. So are the animals and they're mistaking us as either playthings or food."

"Well there's no point in wandering out in the dark. When it's light out again we'll help you find these human friends of yours."

0 smiled at the hospitality. "Thank you."

The Twins smiled, grabbed both of her hands and led her inside. 0 laughed and allowed them to lead her. 7 leaned in close to 9. It made him tense up a bit, not from being uncomfortable, it was for a different reason he couldn't explain.

"Do you think we can really trust her?" She asked. The question surprised him since it was her that invited 0 to stay.

"It's better than what we have been doing." 9 put a hand on her shoulder. "It'll give us some less dangerous adventure."

7 couldn't help but chuckle. "You can see a silver lining in everything, can't you?" 7 was still uneasy about 0 but he couldn't figure out any other reason except that her instincts told her not to. 9 trusted her instincts more than anything. Finally she walked inside and turned on the lights.


	3. Flying Beasts

9 reminded 0 of the Scientist. She barely had any true memories of him. The only memories she had were of the ones made after the experiment and the stories he told her while he fixed up her body to be more of what he imagined.

She wished she visited him like she promised. She wished she could've met the stitchpunks and get to know them before their deaths. She was amazed at how he was able to split his soul nine times! She, the Scientist told her, was less careful.

4 moved to lay on his other side with his back to her while 3 still had his arms around her waist and his head on her shoulder. It didn't take 0 long to find out that they craved the warm touch of another. The constant touching didn't bother her much; it reminded her of the children she watched over in Haven. They often held each other's hand or the hand of someone whom they adopted as a mother or a father or a sibling.

From the hallway she heard 7 and 9 whisper. Slowly she slipped away from 3's hold and snuck to the curtain while 3 readjusted to snuggle with 4. She opened the curtain just enough to see the two.

"How do we even follow someone we don't even know to a world we're unfamiliar with? I don't even think she knows which direction to head in."

"We'll figure it out, 7. It's like I said before, it's a less dangerous adventure."

7 didn't seem to buy her friend's optimism.

He readjusted his stance on the topic. His hand twitched toward hers. 9 wanted to take 7's hand and reassure her lovingly but he was too shy to do it. Instead he rubbed his arm as if there were a wound there. "We'll figure it out in the morning. There's no use stressing about it now when we can't do much." 9 started to walk away.

7 called out in a half serious tone, "Make sure to sleep with one eye open just in case!" 0 suspected she missed a part of the conversation. The joke didn't make any sense to her but it seemed to make sense to 9 who shook his head before he fell out of sight.

0 let the curtain fall back into place. 3 and 4 had woken up at some point and they stood behind her, their knees bent slightly making them appear smaller than her. She didn't need to tell them the obvious. Their friends didn't trust her very well. She didn't blame them. They didn't have any of the Scientist's memories. How could they know her if she never showed up in the beginning? How could they trust her so quickly? But she trusted them, despite her first instinct being to trust only herself and those she knew, these stitchpunks reminded her of the Scientist and everything about him. Did the Twins trust her? The question scared her.

"I'll need to find a map, I guess." She said softly as she sat by the curtain.

The Twins looked at each other, their eyes clicking in a language only they understood. After several minutes of clicking they grabbed her hands and led her back to their homemade bed. They slept on either side, their heads on her shoulder or against the zipper and their hands wrapped around hers. They must trust her enough.

Like always, 0 hardly slept. Every noise woke her up, every howl the wind made forced her to take in her surroundings and plan her exit if she needed one, and every movement she imagined hearing made her tense to the point one of the Twins would wake up and attempt to calm her down in some way as they fell back to sleep. Sometimes they made calming clicking sounds. Sometimes they tapped something nearby in a soothing rhythm, almost like a lullaby. At one point 3 and 4 both woke up and, after clicking with each other, hypnotized her with the lights that shined from their eyes that they often communicated with before falling back asleep.

They didn't really need sleep, they were machines, but the souls that rested in each of them still had the instinct to rest the body even though there were no repercussions the next morning if they didn't.

The last time she finally awoke sunlight spilled in from the cracks and the Twins weren't sleeping next to her. 0 took her time to stand, take in the still unfamiliar room, and walk outside. 7 was dusting off a small bird's skull that fit perfectly on her head when she put it on. 9 and the Twins were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are the Twins?" She asked 7.

This morning 7 didn't act like she did the night before when talking to 9. She was good at hiding her true feelings but so were all women and some men if they tried hard enough.

"Your guess is as good as mine. They were gone when I woke up." She picked up a stick with a knife attached at the end. "There was a lot of information last night. The Twins probably wanted to go somewhere to do research."

It was a good conclusion and 0 couldn't think of one better.

"Do you have a weapon?" It was an innocent question but 0 knew that she was probably probing her story.

"I did but I dropped it when you knocked me out." 0 was quiet for a long moment while 7 gathered materials she found. "If you don't trust me then why did you bring me here?"

She stopped gathering and thought about her answer for a long while. While she thought she started making something with what she found. "I guess…I wasn't suspicious until you said you lost your way and then you started going on and on about the past like you knew it. Your tone reminded me too much of 1."

Everything finally clicked into place. "It hurts still, doesn't it? The loss of your friends?" 7 didn't look at her. She knelt down and placed a hand on hers. "7, you need to let go."

"But we already have let go."

0 opened her mouth to tell her she still clung to the part of the past that could never be undone but the thought was interrupted by a screech above them. "Get down!" She pushed 7 and grabbed her weapon. "Stay down!" She ordered looking up into the sky. "Don't move." The black bird circled above them before finally perching on some rubble.

"What…what is that?"

"That is a bird. A raven or a crow, I still can't tell the difference." The birds black beady eyes watched them carefully. "Don't move, okay? It thinks we're a meal." Slowly 0 got between 7 and the black bird who's eyes watched them. She approached it halfway. It was a contest she had many times, as soon as one of them takes their eyes off the other they're dead.

"Now what?" 7 demanded.

"Now? Now you run for cover!" 0 attacked the bird. No fear. The fight was inevitable since the bird landed. Go for the neck. Snap the neck or hit an artery. It's what everyone in Haven was always taught. There was no snapping of the neck for someone her size, however. She had no choice but to go for an all-offensive attack and hit the neck.

The weapon lodged in the bird's neck and it made the wound worse by flapping its wings at her in a vain attempt to stop the attack. The neck tore open and the blood spilled quickly killing it in the most humane way a stitchpunk was able to.

Blood stained, 0 stood and tried to wipe off the sticky red goo that clung to her burlap body. 7 was too stunned to move. "I told you to run!" 0 scolded. "If I failed you would've died!"

7's eyes were huge. "How did you know the neck would kill it?" She asked.

"Something I was taught in Haven. Kill birds quickly by snapping their neck or letting the blood drain from their neck. Being our size snapping the neck isn't really an option." 0 helped 7 to her feet.

"Hey!" 9 and the Twins ran from the hill toward them. "I think we found a map. Well…the Twins did a long time ago." 9 quickly corrected while 4 looked at a blank space on the wall. He projected images of old maps 0 hadn't seen in years. She approached the map and touched the wall as if the map were tangible.

"I'll admit I'm surprised you even found this. Is this what you were looking for, 9?"

"No…" He said sheepishly. 0 was sure if he could blush he would. "The Twins found it shortly after we released the souls of our friends. They just now remembered it. I went to look at the Scientist's journal."

Finally her index finger rested on a dot near what used to be a river. "Here is where Haven is." She announced and moved south until she found a city. CAPITOL was written in big, bold letters. "This is where we are."

"It doesn't look that far." 9 put his hands on his hips.

"It's 20 miles!" 7 was amazed that such a poorly designed stitchpunk could even travel that far because of a few mistakes.

0 nodded. "That's right and it's very well hidden. To a machine this would be no problem but because of our size it'll take months." She realized how selfish she was being by expecting them to make the trek with her. "Are you guys even up to that task?"

The holographic map disappeared with a blink. The Twins looked at each other and clicked messages back and forth. Both of them nodded and moved to stand on either side of 0.

7 smiled. "They're right. We'll go wherever this Haven is."

"It won't be an easy task, 7. The bird I fought just now is nothing compared to the beasts we'll face. If you thought machines were scary wait until we're out in the wilderness."

The female stitchpunk's smile didn't waver. She looked at 9. "Where do you stand?"

"With you guys." His answer was unwavering.

0 smiled. "You really are the Old Man, 9. Let's get a head start now!"


	4. The Scientists Journal: Entry 15

_0 wobbles sometimes. Her feet are unstable due to the dolls poor condition. She has all of the soul as the orphan Maggie. If she read that I wrote the nickname she hates she would kill me. But…Maggie is forever lost in a different shell so even if she does read this she won't care. Maybe her soul was never really named Maggie but named Zero or, as she prefers to be called, Cero._

 _She's started to help me create 1 but she says that after we are finished she has to leave for a "mission." Every time I ask she becomes silent. It's her way of protecting us both but it does the opposite and forces us to drift apart. It makes me sad when she pushes me away._

The Scientist put away his journal and looked at the half made doll of 1. How would he turn out? 0 couldn't stop touching 1. She was curious, he knew, about what personality it would force out of him.

Finally 0 whispers, "I'll call us…stitchpunks."

"Excuse me?" The Scientist laughed.

"Stitchpunks. Every species with a soul, even the ones that humans created, needs a name." He stared at her. "Stitch because that's how we're made, and punk means inexperienced and young. We're new, inexperienced to the world. It only makes sense."

The Scientist laughed and picked her up. "Okay. Will you help me design the other stitchpunks before I breathe life into 1?"

0 smiled excitedly and nodded. "Yes!"


	5. Dancing rain

The one thing 9 couldn't get wrapped around his mechanical brain was how did 0 have a hand in each of their designs? Did she make the blueprints and the Scientist followed them? He doubted it. What part of him did 0 have a say in? The material created? Was it the zipper? Or maybe it was the placement of his number. What about the Twins? Why was she fonder of them then she was of him or 7 if she supposedly had a hand in creating all of them? He had been thinking about the entry he read while at the Scientists' house since they started their journey.

"9," 7 sounded a little bit worried.

He didn't want to worry her about nothing so he smiled. "I'm fine."

"Wait! 3! 4! Don't go on ahead!" 0's voice echoed from the bottom of a hill of rubble. Beyond the city they knew so well, and the place where their friends died, was a sea of green vegetation.

0 caught up with the Twins at the bottom of the hill. "That's grass." She explained as they catalogued the green fuzz. "It helps hide some bugs from things that'll hurt it." Soon after the explanation 3's eyes caught something else and he pulled 4 along to investigate it. 0 followed them to give them more of an explanation of each plant.

7 laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" They reached the bottom of the hill and followed the sound of the clicks.

"The three of them are kind of similar." She explained. "0 is able to keep up with their energy better than any of us did."

"How is that funny?" Now 9 was laughing but not because of her explanation. He laughed because 7's laughter was contagious.

She started to think about why exactly she was laughing. Finally she answered, "It's kind of cute."

0's laughter echoed from the forest of sprouts. Some of them were already developing leaves to indicate what kind of tree it is. 7 gently grabbed the leaf of a sprouting mesquite. It was the same height as her and still had a lot of growing to do. How tall would it grow?

"Hey! Careful you two! You don't want to damage the plants!"

9 moved aside a sprout to check on the three stitchpunks. 3 and 4 were trying to figure out who would hold the one leaf of a plant when 0 stepped in before they could tear the plant apart.

Something else caught the Twins' eyes and they moved to see what it was. 0 followed, laughter trailed behind her.

"They all act like children." 9 didn't have to turn around to know 7 was smiling.

"You seem to be more okay with 0 now than you were before." He noted, following the sounds of 0, 3, and 4.

"We talked things out. I still don't really trust her but I trust her enough now."

0 came out of nowhere, suddenly in front of them, and startled 9. He jumped back and nearly knocked over 7. "Sorry but come here! We found something!" She grabbed both of their hands and led them through the forest until they came across an abandoned recorder, much like the one they found in the city before the final battle.

She climbed up to the Twins and moved the needle on the black disk. After a few weird sounds that weren't apart of the music a song started to play.

"Claire de Lune." 0 told them.

"What?" Both 9 and 7 were confused at the name.

0 jumped down to 7. "Claire de Lune. It's a song played on the piano. The Scientist used to play the song all the time. It calmed him."

The Twins looked at each other and snuck up behind 0. 9 didn't bother warning 0 and he guessed by the way 7's face transformed she tried her best to hide that she was watching them. When they were close enough they grabbed one of her arms and half dragged her close to the recorder.

3 pushed 4 and tried grabbing 0's free hand but 4 pushed back before that happened. After a few more times of this repeating 0 finally grabbed their hands. They both wanted a dance with her but instead of an individual dance the three of them spun around faster than the rhythm was actually going.

9 turned to 7 and held his hand out to her. "How about we join them?"

She smiled and took his hand. He enjoyed spinning with her underneath the open sky and surrounded by more peaceful scenery than the rubble of the city. The only thing that would make this better was if the two of them were alone.

When the song ended 0 squealed and laughed. All 9 could see were the Twins half on top of her. She must have slipped and pulled the two down with her. The Twins didn't seem to mind the fall.

9 and 7 stopped dancing when they felt the rain droplets on their heads. They hadn't seen too much rain for months. It was refreshing to see it again. The sound was calming and it sounded different from when they released the souls of their friends. This rain didn't feel like it had the spirit of 2, it didn't feel like it had life in it, it felt like it had wisdom and knowledge of what needed to be done. It felt like the rain had fallen a thousand times before them.

0 took shelter under a pile of rocks and rubble. She ran so quickly under it that it almost looked like she disappeared and reappeared. Was she afraid of the water?

3 and 4 didn't seem to take notice of their new companion's leave. They held each other's hands and danced in the rain. 7 followed 0 into the shelter and the two girls started talking quietly.

The small hands of the Twins gently grabbed his and they urged him to dance with them. Just as he was beginning to a roll of thunder in the distance forced them to stop and take cover with the others. 9 slowly followed them.

"…I guess I'm just a little more careful of the rain because I'm afraid of the damage it could cause." 0 explained, her arms around the Twins as if to protect them from the thunder.

9 sat next to 7. "What's going on?" He asked although he had a suspicion that they were talking about why 0 ran away so quickly.

"0 is scared of water." 7 explained.

When the Twins thought it was safe enough they started to play in the rain again. 3 chased 4 around and around the recorder, splashing in the mud puddles that started to form.

"I'm not scared, 7, I'm cautious!" 0 corrected.

"It's the same thing with you." 7 laughed. 0 was less amused by her comment.

4 eventually ran around to hide behind 0. No matter which side he took 3 would be there to tackle him. After several moments of not running 3 finally tackled the both of them, getting 0 wet.

"Hey, be careful!" She scolded and pushed off 3 quickly.

"See?" 7 inquired. "Scared."

0 glared and turned so her back was to 7 in the most childish manner possible.

The Twins' eyes clicked and flashed at each other mesmerizing 9 for a few moments. Finally 3 and 4 took 0's hands and dragged her out in the rain.

"What are you two doing? Stop!" She yelled at them with an underlying tone of fear but for once they didn't listen to the scolding. They took her as far away from the shelter as they could and even dragged her through water. 9 suspected they did that purposely.

"She was told by the Scientist that our wiring can get damaged by water easily and if it happens we could shut down or die. She's fearful of the water because she doesn't trust the material she's made from." 7 explained.

While she explained they watched 0 get up from the puddle and look at her arms and body, watching the water drip. The newly red stains started to wash away from their hold in the knots. When she realized she was okay she chased the Twins, scolding them as she did. The Twins smiled as they ran away from her.

"I guess that makes sense." He mused.

0 ran over, breathing heavily from running too hard for too long. The Twins mocked her from behind but even they were tired from the running. The rain stopped but the thunder and lightening didn't which scared the Twins back inside and behind 9 and 7 when it sounded like an alarm.

"We should wait until the lightening clears." 0 explained to them. "That's one more thing I don't trust."


	6. Protectors Ghost

The storm cleared quickly. 0 insisted they move as far as they could before the storm started again. "No stopping unless it rains…" she took one look at the Twins. 4 cowered behind 3. "Or there's thunder," she quickly added which made 3 and 4 a little bit more at ease.

0 remembered each plant she read about in the Scientist's book and what their sprouts looked like before bark started growing. Pale Verde. Ferns. Pine. Mesquite. Each tree had it's own region but were often mingled together in The State. Each tree carried it's own set of animals to live in it.

Everything around her was quiet. It was almost too quiet for someone traveling with four others. She turned around and found that her worst fears came to life. She was alone again.

She knew not to panic, though. She couldn't panic. If she panicked she would run back to the city of rubble and she would never find Haven again and her mission would have failed.

"0," the voice was rough and familiar. 0 turned around to find the familiar, gruff, green-glowing spirit of 8. Everyone needs a protector and 8 was supposed to be theirs but a protector doesn't have someone to protect them. Something like that was impossible in the world.

0 breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad I can still see you this far outside of Haven." She smiled but 8 didn't look as relieved of the reunion as she did.

"1 told you not to involve anyone else." He sounded disappointed.

"I know. But you know I couldn't…"

She didn't finish her sentence before 8 interrupted, "You should have tried harder!"

0 flinched back. She hoped that before his death 8 wasn't nearly as rude and unpleasant. "It's just temporary, 8. Besides these are your friends."

This didn't seem to matter to him. He started to walk away.

"Wait!" She followed him. He was a lot faster than she predicted.

"1 is getting impatient." He finally said when they took shelter underneath a more mature flower. "If you cannot get back soon…"

"I know, I know." She felt herself hunch over and she started fiddling with her hands. She heard the threat a hundred times before. "Give me a little bit more time, 8." She pleaded.

"Fine. Hurry."

0 turned to try and find her friends again. Almost centimeters away from her were the Twins. They stared up at her, peering into her eyes. 7 and 9 were behind them, watching her in confusion. How much did they hear? They weren't ready to hear the truth yet.

It felt like the world around them stopped. Slowly she straightened herself out but as soon as she did the Twins opened the zipper and peeked their heads inside, clicking and flashing and grabbing each wire individually to check the damages that didn't exist.

"I'm fine," she tried telling them but they wouldn't listen.

"Who were you talking to?" 7 asked with a worried tone.

"N-nobody," she lied but her tone told them otherwise. 3 and 4 looked up, at her with worried eyes. Her eyes fell on 9. He was worried and by his body language suspicious. "Really…I'm fine."

Everyone looked at each other and silently agreed to drop the subject. "7, do you have a knife or something?"

7 obviously didn't want to give her any weapons. Reluctantly she handed over a sword she made for her back in the city of rubble.

"4, go ahead and pull up the map again. I can figure out where we are and the fastest route toward Haven." She explained.

4 looked at the ground and a map was eventually brought up. 3 stood behind him with both hands on his shoulders.

"I think we are…here." 0 pointed with the tip of the knife. "So we need to take this route." She dragged the knife along until it hit the black dot. "We'll get there in no time." She promised them.

In no time would she be reunited with the residents of Haven.

As they started to leave again she could tell 9 was tense with suspicions and worry over his friends' safety. When she looked back toward the flower she saw 8 again. He yelled after her, "Remember not to tell anyone about us."


	7. The Scientists Journal: Entry 20

_Despite the shell being machine 0 still somehow retains her humanity and her human personality. She's so pure but so naïve and so cautious and fearful. Just like when she was Maggie. She loves to play in the snow when it falls but as soon as it melts she becomes scared. I told her to be careful about getting the wires wet and she took the warning a little too far. The body would protect the wiring for only so long and only if she kept the zipper closed._

 _When the Chancellor came today to demand I do something more about the machines than what I was doing 0 stood up and defended me. Well more like she attacked the Chancellor but didn't deal much damage. He did much more damage to her than she did to him. She lost her whole arm because she wouldn't let go of the needle just because she believed I was being threatened._

 _0 acts tough like she did as a human but she's weak when fighting, just like when she was Maggie. She doesn't truly want to kill anything or anyone. How she's survived to the age of fifteen, the only answer to that is she has a protector. According to her a protector shouldn't have a protector so maybe this means her role in this world is to not protect or perhaps this means she was wrong about the process of the world. Or perhaps this means guardian angels truly exist in some form._

 _This leads me to the conclusion that the reason BRAIN became so easily corrupted is because of the lack of a human soul. Sure it had my intellect, just like these "stitchpunks" will, but the human soul holds the conscious to know what is right and what is wrong. The intellect only holds the instinct to survive._

He closed his notebook and hid it in a drawer so 0 wouldn't try to look in it again. The sky was painted red. If there was a god somewhere he was angry or perhaps this is what the god of war looked when he was happy. It scared the Scientist to think that war would make anybody happy. What scary creature would you have to be? It was a question he's rather never know the answer to.

0's arm was stitched neatly with an indigo string she helped find. They gathered as much material as they could when they wandered outside in case she needed to be patched up and so they would have plenty of things to make the others from.

She slept soundly on a bed she made from a sponge he released from it's plastic prison just a week before. It could have easily gotten wet but she didn't expect that to happen any time soon.

He found some cloth he used to clean his glasses with and set it over her like a blanket.

0 didn't stir for several hours afterward, in which he took the time to design 2. When she finally did wake and sit up he showed her the designs for 2.

"What do you think, Cero?"

She looked sleepily at the design. "Okay, I guess." She didn't give any input of what to change. Instead she looked up at him, "Hey, can I design the next two?"

"Well yes, with my help."

The young stitchpunk shook her head. "No. Trust me you'll like my design way better than what you have planned!"

The Scientist just smiled. "Fine. You can have full control of 3 and 4."

She got to work immediately.


	8. Lost in anger

The sun was down faster than he expected. When his mind was busy he noticed time seemed to move a lot faster. 9 waited for everyone to fall asleep before waking the Twins and sneaking off into the night. 4 pulled up an entry from the Scientist's journal. Some of it wasn't new information but others were. Why didn't he tell 9 about 0 before? Did he want to keep it a secret?

 _She made me promise to let her design 3 and 4. I wonder how they'll turn out._

It suddenly made sense to 9 now why 0 was so fond of the Twins. She fully designed them. They were her creations with someone else's soul in it.

4 blinked away the entry before he could feel faint. They both had a look of concern on their faces.

"What is it?" 9 asked them.

They simply pointed toward 7 and 0 and then at the ground where 4 shined the entry. He then realized they didn't have concern looks it was a look of guilt.

"It's okay. We're just doing some research about 0. They don't need to know. For all I know I'm worried about nothing and there's no reason 7 should be worried either."

The Twins looked at each other then back at him and then they went back to sleep with 0. 9 stayed up to watch the sunrise.

The humidity made drying off harder and the clouds didn't go away for most of the day. 3 and 4 ran ahead to purposely splash in the puddles and sometimes even waited for one of them to get close so they could splash their next victim.

The clouds finally started to part when the sun painted the horizon in a variety of pinks, oranges, and purples as it started to set in the horizon. It looked beautiful but it was hard for 9 to enjoy when their tour guide finally stopped and admitted she couldn't figure out where they were.

"What do you mean you can't figure out where we are?" 7 sounded exasperated.

"I mean I think we either past Haven or we're farther off the trail…"

4 pulled up a map and shined it at the ground while 0 took her time staring at the map. She used the knife's tip to draw patterns in the soft mud. "Oh dear…" She whispered.

"What?"

0 looked like she wanted to flinch at the sound of 7's voice. "Um…this is where I thought we were. But," with the tip of her knife she made a straight line toward Haven. "We're about 5 miles off. Maybe 10."

9 could hear 7's breathing. She was trying to keep her anger under control but soon it wouldn't hold. 4 clicked off the map. "I'm sorry, guys. We'll have to move directly east tomorrow."

"How do we know you aren't wrong about the location of Haven?" 7 asked harshly but didn't give her time to answer before she was on her next question. "How do we know you won't get us lost in this place forever? We were just fine among the rubble until you showed up!"

0 rubbed the stitches on her arm. "I'm sorry, 7, really. But I promise that I know the location of Haven. We just have to make a straight shot through."

7 didn't listen. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you! I knew you would get us lost! Now there's nowhere left for us to go!"

0 flinched back behind the Twins. 3 and 4 stepped out in front of her, creating a wall between 0 and 7's anger. Their arms were folded in front of them and they were actually glaring! It surprised both 7 and 9.

After several minutes of a stare down between the three 7 finally pulled down her bird skull helmet and ran off. When the Twins thought it was safe enough to let their guard down they turned to 0.

"I really am sorry," she whispered to the Twins. They put their arms around her and pulled her close in a tight embrace. The three didn't let go of each other until the sun was fully set.

The moon was full and white. 0 told stories to the Twins about the moon and the sun and the dots she called stars and what pictures they formed. As the moon flew higher into the sky 9 became worried for 7's safety. Where was she? She should've come back by now. Was she lost?

Something poked his shoulder making him jump. "9," it was 0, "you seem tense."

"Why wouldn't I be?" He snapped. "7 hasn't come back and it's getting late!"

"Don't worry, 9. She'll be fine. She can defend herself."

"How would you know that? This is your fault! If you hadn't gotten us lost-"

"I didn't get anyone lost. I know exactly where we are!"

9 continued as if she hadn't just interrupted him, "-then we wouldn't be in this mess!"

0 narrowed her eyes at him. Why did she cower with 7 but not with him? Was it because he reminded her of the Scientist? Or was there something else? The Twins looked like they would tackle him if she suddenly became scared. He had never seen the Twins so protective over someone.

Without warning 0 grabbed the sword 7 made for her and she walked off in the direction 7 headed in. The Twins tried to follow her. "No," 0 told them, "stay here. I'll be back before sunrise, okay? I promise." She pat the Twins heads and walked off.

3 and 4 never looked at 9. The whole time they ignored him and waited for their friend to come back. When the moon hit the highest part of the sky 9 heard the Twins get up and click excitedly.

"Where's 0?"

9 felt as if a burden was lifted off his shoulders. He turned around, smiling, but his smile disappeared when he saw 7's worried look. "She ran off to find you." He explained.

"Why? I would've come back before the sun came up."

3 and 4 glared at 9.

"What did you do?" 7 asked him.

"You weren't back yet. I thought something happened so I yelled at 0." 9 hurried through the explanation.

"And you let her go alone?" 7 yelled. "There's so many things that could hurt us out here! You three should've gone with her!"

"I could've defended us!" 9 yelled back.

"Not as well as 0 would have."

"How do you know that?" He accused.

"Because when we were attacked by a bird she defended me!" Everything quieted at the sound of 7's scream. Even the Twins didn't dare to move and instead they held each other, worried for 0. "I'm gonna go look for her. I'll be back before the sun rises. Do not move!" She ordered before she ran off.

7 had never yelled at 9 before and he never yelled back. This mysterious stitchpunk was tearing them away from each other. It was because of her! Everything was because of her!

"I need to read another entry." He told the Twins.

Reluctantly 4 showed him an entry.

 _She refuses to let me see the progress of the blueprints for 3 and 4 claiming that it will ruin the surprise. I laugh at her being so excited. I've never seen her work so hard at something before._

 _0 hasn't left the room for days. I have already finished the work for 5 and I'm nearly done with 6._

 _At one point today I heard her whisper to the shell of 1, "To protect us, inspire us, define us, and teach us. To guide us, lead us, to defend us, and guard us. To save us and to create us. Each of us have a role."_

9 couldn't focus on the rest of the passage. 4 blinked away the entry, nearly fainting when he did but 3 caught him when he fell back and set him down to sit. 9 didn't realize how high far the moon fell. 0 and 7 still weren't back yet.

The first of the sun's fingers started to touch the sky, staining the black with blue.

"This is my fault." He whispered to himself. The higher the sun got the more he felt a sinking in his heart, if he had one. "If they're hurt or worse…I may have just gotten all of us killed." He looked down at his hands and sighed solemnly. "What if they're dead?" He asked the Twins.

"Dead? What do you mean, dead?"

9 snapped his head up at the sound of 0's voice. She was limping against 7, her leg torn slightly. "Nothing can kill me, old man!"


	9. Lost in defense

The morning after 3 and 4 forced her to play in the rain all 0 kept hearing were complaints. It felt like everyone was complaining. The Twins didn't help much with their splashing but she couldn't help but splash them back sometimes.

When 0 designed the Twins she designed them to never be alone, always be together, she never imagined them to be so childlike. She underestimated their childishness and their closeness sometimes. They always seemed to read each other's thoughts and sometimes they even read hers.

The sun painted the horizon in lots of different colors. Each sunrise and each sunset was different.

Finally she stopped 4 before he could splash in another puddle. "Can you pull up a map for me?" Something was off with 4. He acted more tired than he should have. "It won't be long, I promise."

4 wasn't reluctant in pulling up the map on the ground. With the tip of her knife she drew patterns in the dirt from where they left to where they should have been. "Oh dear…" she tried to say it to the Twins but 9 and 7 seemed to hear too. 4 blinked away the map.

"What is it?" 7's voice sounded either angry or annoyed, 0 was afraid to find out which.

"Um…this is where I thought we were. But," with the tip of her knife she made a straight line toward Haven. "We're about 5 miles off. Maybe 10."

She could hear 7's uncontrolled breathing but she tried her whole being to control it with little success.

"I'm sorry, guys. We'll have to move directly east tomorrow."

"How do we know you aren't wrong about the location of Haven?" 7 asked harshly. 0 opened her mouth to answer but 7 was on her next question already, "How do we know you won't get us lost in this place forever? We were just fine among the rubble until you showed up!"

0 rubbed the stitches on her arm and started to cower, trying to use 3 and 4 as shields but at the same time she tried to protect them from 7's rage. "I'm sorry, 7, really. But I promise that I know the location of Haven. We just have to make a straight shot through."

7 didn't listen. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you! I knew you would get us lost! Now there's nowhere left for us to go!"

0 flinched back at the comment. Now there was no protecting the Twins because they stepped in front of her, their arms folded, as if to deflect the words back at her. It surprised 0. This was not the role she thought of the Twins having. Define us and teach us, she remembered whispering so long ago. It felt like a million years have passed since she designed them.

She watched 7's face morph suddenly. It was as if the demon had lost control of her and allowed her to see what she was doing and what the Twins were doing. Without an explanation that 0 could hear of 7 walked into the forest of sprouts.

After a while 3 and 4 turned to 0. She didn't want to look up at them but the took her head in his hands and lifted it up so she could see them. They were concerned.

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered. It was all she could think to say to them.

The Twins wrapped their arms around her and allowed her to bury her face in their shoulders. If she could cry she would've.

After several hours she finally pulled away from them. 7 still hadn't come back. She didn't mind at all. The moon was full and white and bleached the sky around it. The stars twinkled, some brighter than others.

3 and 4 pointed up at the sky.

"That's the moon and those are the stars." She told them. "If you look closely you can see pictures in the sky. See? Orion's belt and there is the big dipper." The Twins were fascinated with the lights they've probably never seen before she came along. "They say that the moon and sun have spirits." Their curiosity peaked and she started to tell stories that she read about in books. Each time she looked over at 9 the more tense he became.

When her stories were done she walked over and poked 9's shoulder, startling him from his thoughts. "You seem tense." She told him the obvious.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He snapped. "7 hasn't come back and it's getting late!"

"Don't worry, 9. She'll be fine. She can defend herself."

"How would you know that? This is your fault! If you hadn't gotten us lost-"

"I didn't get anyone lost. I know exactly where we are!"

9 continued as if she hadn't just interrupted him, "-then we wouldn't be in this mess!"

0 narrowed her eyes at him. 9 was different than 7. He wasn't scary and she knew that even if she did make him annoyed or upset he couldn't stay too mad at her for long if he was anything like the Scientist.

She could feel the tension behind her from the Twins. They were ready to protect her again without hesitation.

Quietly, 0 grabbed the sword 7 made for her and she walked off in the direction 7 headed in. The Twins tried to follow her but she stopped them. "No stay here. I'll be back before sunrise, okay? I promise." She pat the Twins heads and walked off into the forest.

The moon lit up the ground in a pale light. Everything that moved made her jump a little. The sounds weren't new to her but she was afraid still, afraid that this time if a bird didn't attack her but something else did she would die and leave the four behind with nowhere to go.

She stopped at the sound of a rattle and looked around for eyes. There were none yet there was a rattling of a snake's tail near her. Where did it come from? She tried to back away but each direction she backed away toward was where the sound was coming from.

Finally when she turned around she came face to face with the beast whose body wrapped around her and squeezed. It's tail stopped rattling. 0 realized it was a snake and if she didn't do something soon she would die. She stabbed it over and over again. It finally released her and she attempted to run away. Something snagged her leg and she looked back to see the snake's blood-lust eyes. The stitches were coming away. She had to do something.

0 quickly stabbed one of it's eyes and it let go long enough for her to hide behind a rock.

How do you kill a snake again? She racked her head for the answer. A snake's body was different than any other animal. It's whole body was a neck but she couldn't just stab it wherever and hope it would die!

It wrapped it's body around her in a sneak attack and lifted her toward it's head. She stabbed it again but this time it refused to let go. Finally she stabbed it's eye and when it let go the head rolled away from it's body.

7's white body seemed to glow against the light of the moon. When she lifted her helmet 0 could see she was smiling in a relieved way.

0 limped over and hugged her. "Thank you!" She yelled. Her body started to shake with the thought of what could have happened if 7 hadn't appeared.

"What happened?" 7 didn't push her away but she did hold 0 out at arms length. "Why couldn't you beat this one?"

0 didn't want to tell her the truth. Out of a habit she did as a human she rubbed the bottom of her eyes. "It wasn't a bird." She whispered.

"So?" 7 didn't understand.

"I can't fight, 7. I've never been able to. I beat that bird because I did it a thousand times before! I've never gone up against a snake! I didn't even know where it would die easily!" 0 sighed. "You guys put your trust in me to protect you and I can't even do that."

7 didn't sound angry when she spoke, "Don't worry, you have me here to defend you. You don't need to know how to fight with me around."

This made 0 a little bit more at ease. _To defend us…_ She used to whisper to the shell of 1.

"As long as you can at least protect the Twins. They adore you and I never want to see them get hurt." She added quickly

0 nodded. "I will only if you don't tell anyone about this."

7 laughed and wrapped her arm around her and led her back to the camp. "I promise."

The sun started to come up and paint the eastern horizon all sorts of colors. As they approached the camp 0 could hear 9 talk to the Twins. They were coming up behind him.

"If they're hurt or worse…I may have just gotten all of us killed." He looked down at his hands and sighed solemnly. "What if they're dead?" He asked the Twins.

0 wanted to laugh. "Dead? What do you mean, dead?"

9 snapped his head up at the sound of her voice. "Nothing can kill me, old man!"

7 just laughed quietly.


	10. The Scientist Journal entry 25

_She says the designing of 3 and 4 is done but I feel like something is missing. "You cannot change it," she tells me every day as I design the others. 3 and 4 were never meant to be twins and they shouldn't look so much alike and their numbers should be on the back like her number is. However, each time I change it or even bring a pen near the paper she stabs me with the needle!_

 _I guess there's nothing to do now. I guess it does look better than my original idea. When I asked her yesterday why they should be twins she said, "According to you I was alone until you found me. I must have been very lonely and I never want the others to be lonely either. If they're twins the two will never be lonely."_

The Scientist put his notebook in the drawer and turned to his small companion who looked over the work of 8. They were almost done. Every night he did everything not to cry and it took up so much energy to get out of bed. Each day he became increasingly aware that their time together was ending.

"What is your mission, 0?" He asked for the thousandth time.

Usually she would either ignore the question or she would get defensive. Today, however, she did none of that. "To protect the humans left so that when all is safe they can repopulate."

"Do you truly believe that is your mission?"

0 hesitated. "You need to make 8 bigger." She did it again.

He sighed softly. "Why do you think that?"

"You haven't made someone to protect us yet." She answered and looked up at him. "He can guard us if you just make him a bit bigger."

"I can make the next one bigger."

She wouldn't hear it. 0 grabbed a pen and handed it to him. "So, who will protect you when you are on your mission, Cero?"

0 stared at him for several minutes. Finally she said, "I am a protector and a protector doesn't have a protector. If that were the case a lot of people and things would die more naturally than the way they're dying now."

Slowly the Scientist began correcting 8, making him bigger and stronger. He knew 0 was hardly a protector. She could hardly defend herself as a human but as a stitchpunk he was sure she would be a lot worse. He needed a backup plan for her so that she would be a lot harder to kill.

0 started her nightly ritual of touching the now finished doll of 1 and started to touch the half completed body of 2, whispering the same thing she whispered every night to them. When she was done whispering she stayed near their bodies, trying to feel every texture, looking at each individual wiring, memorizing their anatomy.

"Will you at least stay to meet 1?" He asked her.

"I cannot." She said simply.


	11. Lies

Was it possible that 0 could have met 1?

9 watched 3 and 4 and 0. The three were so carefree, like the Scientist described the Maggie he so fondly wrote about. 0 would playfully push the Twins when they weren't expecting it then run ahead while 3 and 4 chased her. She would squeal when they were close to tackling her and then she would hide behind 7, laughing with what breath she had left. It made the caravan of stitchpunks stop until 3 and 4 gave up tackling her. Then 0 would lead the way again.

Sometimes she had a hard time keeping up with the Twins because her leg was sewn up so badly. They didn't bring a lot of things to patch themselves up with so what held her leg together was some thin wire.

If 1 did meet her he probably didn't like her.

"0," 9 finally had the courage to ask while 0 was laughing and out of breath.

"Yeah?" she looked at 9, her hand on her chest as if to hold something there. It looked as if she was pushing against it.

"You were made before any of us, right?"

From 9's peripheral vision he could see 7's curiosity peak but she tried in vain to hide it.

"Well yeah. You all should know that. What's this about?"

The Twins tried to get her to play by pushing her forward or grabbing her hands and pulling them roughly but she masterfully ignored their attempts. It looked as if they were dancing around her.

"So does that mean you met 1?"

0 became silent.

9 continued, "Well I figured that since you were created before any of us you must have met 1 at some point. Or even 2."

"Why are you asking me this so suddenly?" Something about her changed. It morphed her into a more mature person.

"I just wanted to know." 9 shrugged as if it were no big deal.

"Sorry to disappoint you but I've never met 1. I was long gone before the Scientist even designed 3 and 4." She was a bad liar. Her body became hunched, her fingers flinched at the touch of 3 and 4, and her eyes became more dilated. It were as if she was trying to make herself smaller and appear more transparent.

Finally 3 jumped on her back and she fell over. 0 laughed like her old self again and when 3 and 4 ran ahead she followed yelling, "Left! Left! Turn Left!"

7 and 9 walked in silence for what felt like a long while.

"She's lying." He finally told her.

"What are you talking about?"

"0 lied to me. She said she's never met 1 but she lied. Why would she lie? She shouldn't have a reason not to trust us, 7."

7 smiled in a motherly way. She always had that motherly smile and instinct that would calm anyone down. She put a hand on his shoulder, "You're just a little protective of the Twins, 9. I understand, I am too, but there's no reason not to trust 0 anymore. If she has secrets to hide it's hers to keep and she must have good reason to not even tell the Twins about it." Her hand squeezed softly before pulling it away.

"You're right," he didn't believe the words even though he said them.

They heard 0 scream. "Guys!" 3 and 4 smiled proudly of them being able to successfully pin down 0. "Get off!" She eventually pushed them off.

"Are we close?" 7 asked 0. "You've been playing an awful lot when you should be leading us.

"Sorry, 7," 0 said sheepishly, "I promise not too far now. But the sun is setting and 3 and 4 are getting tired. We should set up camp. I promise tomorrow we'll be there!"

0 made an awful lot of promises that, to 9, were simply empty words.


	12. Secrets

The moon was waning back into new. It's crescent shape made 0 uneasy every time because she couldn't see that well in the dark without it.

3 and 4, like usual, fell asleep on both sides of her with their arms wrapped around her in some way and with her arms wrapped around them in a loose embrace. Every night since they met the three fell asleep like that. It reminded 0 that she was no longer alone.

If she could dream she imagined she would see 1 again.

 _"Have you ever met 1?"_ 9's words echoed in her head.

'Yes I have met 1,' those were the easiest words she could've said! Instead the word 'no' was forced from her voice box from some devil the earth produced.

 _"Oh my god! I cannot believe you!"_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"You are so tight, stuck up!"_

 _"What? I am not!"_

 _"Sure you are! You…you…ugh!"_

 _"You do have to agree with me on some term, though, 0. After all you are the oldest and you have seen all that I have in that walk and probably more."_

 _"Yes…I guess you are right, 1. But you are a coward, you have to agree with me on that."_

 _"There is a very thin line between cautious and cowardice."_

 _"Yeah, the line is nonexistent."_

0 laughed until she awoke. That was last conversation she said to 1 before they both disappeared into the night leaving the Scientist behind.

The space next to her was empty. Where were 3 and 4?

"I see…" 0 could hear 7 from where she lay. The space close to 9 where 7 had been sleeping was empty, left only was the grass she used as a blanket. Slowly 0 got up and followed 0's voice.

"So this is why 9 asked all those questions? …That stupid…" 7 couldn't find the words. When 0 was close enough to see and not be seen she stopped. 4 was flashing something at the ground and 3 was behind him, ready to catch 4 if needed. 7 stared at the ground in anger and disbelief and hurt.

Slowly 0 looked at the ground. She recognized the handwriting as that of the Scientists! It talked about the Chancellor and how 0 stabbed him. The next that 4 showed was how 0 met 1.

Her heart sank to her stomach. She didn't mean to gasp but the sound escaped her mouth anyway. The three of them looked up. 4 tried to quickly blink away the entry but it was too late, 0 had seen it and there was no going back. They knew her lies and her secrets.

"0…" 7 took a step toward her.

In her panic she fled with 7's voice calling her name. Her legs didn't stop, though, she just kept running and running and running until she realized how far away from everyone she was and the fear of being attacked seized her.

"Damn" was the only word that escaped her mouth when 5 appeared in front of her. She sank to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself. She couldn't feel 5 when he put a hand on her shoulder. How could she? He was a ghost, after all. The only reason she noticed was from the glowing that he emanated.

"What is wrong, 0?" He asked and sat next to her.

"Everyone knows everything now!"

"So?" 5 shrugged.

"I didn't want them to know yet! They aren't ready to hear and accept the truth!"

"They're bound to find out, 0. If you didn't tell them something else would have."

0 sighed, "How are they going to trust me now that they now I've lied?"

"Same way they trusted everyone else, I guess." 5 looked up at the moon and stars and the black sky. "You need to hurry, 0. You need to stop playing around with your friends."

"Right, right. Sorry. I'll hurry up. Tomorrow, I'll be there tomorrow."

"Being there isn't enough. You have to free us soon." 5 disappeared with the light that started to come up.

0 sighed and stood. When she inhaled she felt like she was trying to suck in any dignity she had left and tried to keep it inside as she walked back to the camp. When she appeared from the forest she saw 7, 3, and 4 keeping their distance from 9. Everyone stopped to stare at 0 when she appeared.

"Lets get going. We can't stop to play anymore."


	13. The Scientist Journal entry 32

_We finished today the designs for 9. I left little notes on the back of what 9 should know before I give the last ounce of my soul to it. When we finished I expected 0 to leave immediately but when I opened the window for her to leave she never stepped a foot outside. She watched my spirit being sucked from my body. How horrific that must have been to see._

 _She waited for me to finish. I turned around with the doll in my hand and she was still there, on the windowsill. I was afraid that if I acknowledged her she would leave so I went about my work to wake up 1. It was fairly easy and when I did he hopped immediately out of my hands demanding that I let him go._

 _When 1 saw 0 he stopped immediately and just stared. I wonder what went through his mind._

 _The first thing 0 said to him was, "What's wrong with you?"_

 _At first 1 said nothing. He took his staff I laid on my desk for him and walked with it to 0, set the tip of the curled end on her shoulder and forced her forward to have a look on her back._

 _"Zero," was all he said._

 _"Cero! Geeze! You could have asked!"_

 _"You could have lied." 1 claimed._

 _That was the start of their "friendship" if that's what you could call a relationship like that. I explained to 1 his name but he didn't seem to care for anything I had to say. His focus was solely on 0._

 _At some point 0 and 1 went on a walk while I finished the body of 2 and started on 3 and 4. They didn't come back for several hours and that was only because 0 dragged him back to my workspace._

 _"We should take cover! Somewhere safer than here!"_

 _"There is nowhere safer, you idiot!"_

 _1 was appalled by this nickname and the fight ensued. Eventually they more or less agreed on one thing, they shouldn't go out too far from the sights of their comrades and friends._

 _When 1 wasn't listening 0 started complaining about how much of a coward he was. "He can't protect us! So I'm not staying here."_

 _"But Cero, someone has to lead them."_

 _"If they want to follow a coward they can, otherwise the others will slowly break away."_

 _"They won't have anywhere to go."_

 _"That's not my problem." And with that last word 0 left us._

The Scientist didn't feel the need to hide his journal but he did anyway. 2 ran around the workshop, gathering anything he could find and made something with them. 1 had his cowardice and 2 had his creativity and his need to invent new things. What would 3 and 4 be like?


	14. Haven

"I can't believe you kept this from me!" 7 hadn't stopped yelling for hours. She mainly repeated the same thing over and over, stuck in a loop. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you. You seemed to be getting along so well with 0."

3 and 4 ran around the camp with every small noise they heard, trying to find 0 to no avail.

7 didn't know what to say to him in her rage. "Well she ran off, thanks to you!" She finally yelled before going to help the Twins.

9 didn't feel like he messed up but he didn't feel better about 0 either. When 0 came back she was a little more serious. The air around her was strange. "Lets get going. We can't stop to play anymore."

She wasn't kidding, either. Whenever the Twins tried to play with her she would ignore them but every now and again she would look to one side of her and nod as if acknowledging someone that wasn't there.

The forest thinned out dramatically as they came closer and closer to her destination. In the distance was a dark cathedral with gothic spires. Most were knocked down due to the war. From under her breath 0 started whispering something. 3 and 4 ran to 7 and pointed at her in confusion and concern.

7 looked at 9. "What's going on?" She asked.

"I don't know. I never got that far into the entries." He admitted. "The farthest I got was that she met 1."

They approached a cathedral with many gothic spires and broken stained murals of the old gods. The doors had been blown off.

"Welcome to Haven!" 0 yelled and turned to them so that she was walking backwards.

There was something wrong. For Haven being supposedly inhabited it was oddly quiet. 7 identified it immediately, "Where are the humans you said you hid?"

0 started to climb some stairs but she still tried to turn around to talk to them. She was approaching something round with strange symbols on it. It was a lot like the talisman…actually it looked exactly like it!

"Um…I'm going to have to apologize to you four…especially to you, 3 and 4." Her expression and voice were genuine. She took the talisman from its podium and took a very relaxing and deep breath. It calmed her to be holding it, it seemed.

"What is that?" 9 asked.

"This is something like the talisman the Scientist entrusted you with. But it's different." She turned it around. There was a mirror on the back and on the front were three holes big enough for wires to fit. The mirror had a huge crack going across it. "I'm sorry for deceiving you guys. But I thought you would believe me a lot more if I told you humans lived here instead of what my real mission is…I plan on bringing back all that have died after the Scientist."


	15. Cero's Secret

0 saw the disbelief in their eyes. It wasn't surprising to her. 5 told her they would react this way. She held the talisman close to her chest. She could see them all. They stood next to the four stitchpunks. She saw 8 smiling, something she'd only seen once on his face before. 5 and 6 stood near 3 and 4. And 1 was right next to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and nodded at her.

2 was nowhere to be found. He never had been. His soul was lost forever to the world for some reason that was beyond 0's understanding.

With her free hand, 0 clutched the necklace made of bone. She often forgot it was there, protecting her.

"You're going to have to explain." 7 finally said.

"When the war was new," she began, "I thought my mission was to help the orphans get out and as far away from the war as possible. But each time I tried to escape with them something would happen. A bomb would explode near the child I rode or a stray bullet would knock me off.

"Each and every time I couldn't escape. Finally I started to tell them to get away, not to Haven because it was no longer safe but to go and explore and find a new Haven. Repopulate the earth. Save the human race." She paused to let it sink in and studied their faces.

Her eyes rested on 9, who watched the talisman in fear. "Then one day I found this on a dead Cat Beast. When I took it I saw and heard things nobody else had before. There was a voice inside and sometimes it would take form of the spirits trapped inside."

0 held the talisman up to the light. "The voice was a compilation of the spirits inside. They had one voice because they had one goal, to escape. It became cracked when a bullet hit the mirror and all the voices became lost and disoriented.

"I took it to the Scientist in hopes that he would fix it. Then _he_ came. The man responsible for the destruction of everything. He wanted to execute the Scientist. He blamed the man who created you! I wasn't going to let that happen. And then it spoke to me again and asked if I wanted to purge the evil away and I said yes. It sucked away part of the Chancellor's soul leaving only a cowardly man who regretted his decision. The Scientist took it away from me and I never saw it again."

Almost immediately 9 asked, "Then how did you know it was here?"

"Somehow the spirit of 1, 5, 6, and 8 got trapped inside. They told me where to find it. I needed you four because I couldn't get out alone. I'm not all that good at fighting and I knew I needed help. I knew you guys wouldn't believe me if I told you I was going to raise your friends back."

"If you knew they were dead why did you ask us then?" 7 asked this time, keeping the Twins behind her.

"I needed to be sure. I am really sorry for deceiving you."

They looked like they pitied her. Why should they? 0 didn't understand.

9 approached slowly as if he were afraid that if he moved any faster she would run off. "You can't bring them back." He chose his words carefully.

"Y-Yeah I can. 1 said…" She looked at the cracked mirror of the talisman.

7 approached with the Twins when she realized 0 wasn't a threat. She had a motherly aura around her when she put her hand on 0's shoulder. "You can't, 0. They're dead. Their souls need to rest."

0 couldn't believe what she was hearing. Slowly the spirits disappeared. She stared up at 7.

"0, their souls should have peace. Please, allow them at least that. They can never come back."

Her body started to shake. When her legs gave out 3 and 4 caught her and set her down to sit slowly.

"But I…my mission…"

"Your mission was a success." 7 finished for her.

It wasn't a success, though. Her mission was to raise their friends back. She looked down at her feet. She wanted to cry. Arms wrapped around her in a tight and comforting embrace of 3 and 4.

She whispered, "Who will protect us? Who will inspire us? Who will guide us? Who will lead us? Who will guard us?" They were roles she set up for them in the beginning. She would whisper it every night to the lonely shell of 1 and whispered it still for as long as she was a stitchpunk.

"We will," 7 said but she didn't understand. Nobody understood.


	16. The Scientist Journal entry 45

_Something strange has happened to 0 since she came back. I was about to have my soul sucked out for the eighth time when she appeared in my window holding what looked to be the talisman I have currently but on the back was a cracked mirror and on the front were three holes. She wanted me to fix it._

 _"I can't hear their voices." She kept saying to me. How did she go from being a rational girl to being just as insane as 6?_

 _She even used the talisman to suck out some of the Chancellor's soul. It left him cowering at the bombs that went off in the distance. I gave the talisman to an orphan and asked him to hide it._

 _While at her home when she was a human today I found an old video that I've entrusted in an abandoned library. I hope someday one of the stitchpunks will find it. They may be able to better protect 0 because of it._

 _My worst fears have been brought back to light and I am currently working on something to protect 0._

0 was sleeping on her bed. She didn't even wake up when 8 awoke even when the Scientist tried to wake her.

The Scientist watched 8 gather the weapons he gave him. 8 intimidated the Scientist but despite the intimidation he was fascinated that 8 would be curious about 0. As he walked around the room if 0 made a noise in her sleep he would hustle over to check on her and wouldn't leave her side for several minutes before gathering more things as either weapons or armor. Why was 8 so protective of 0? Maybe that was his role in the world.

Before 8 walked out into the day they both heard 0 whisper, "Guard us." A smile twitched on 8's face, it was so light that the Scientist thought he imagined it.


	17. Sister

0 refused to move from the cathedral and it became a unanimous decision that they should stay for her until she was ready to leave. All the while she whispered to the talisman or to herself or to the people that weren't really there.

7 was more worried than 9 was but none of them were as worried as 3 and 4. They didn't bother trying to get her to play. They simply sat by her side and refused to leave without her. They followed her everywhere.

At one point 9 sat next to her and watched the sunset. "Look on the bright side," he finally said to break the silent tension, "if we release them again maybe even more things will grow."

This didn't bring comfort to her. 3 and 4 clicked their eyes at each other and forced 0 to stand and walk inside. 3 sat her down on a fallen piece of ceiling tile while 4 projected a silent film onto the cracked wall. A smile twitched on 0's lips while she watched.

From the other side of the room 7 laughed at the film. 9 sat next to her. "I don't get it. Why are 3 and 4 able to make her smile so easily?"

"Maybe because you yelled at her?" 7 joked.

9 rolled his eyes. "That isn't funny, 7. You yelled at her too."

"Fine, fine." She sighed but she was still laughing quietly. "They're just more bonded, 9. That's the only thing I can come up with. For whatever reason the Twins were bonded to her from the start."

When the movie was over 0 caught 4 before he could injure himself. "Don't overexert yourself to make me happy," she told him quietly. "Thank you, still."

3 and 4 looked triumphant at getting her to smile.

7 leaned forward. "I think they've adopted you." She yelled out to 0.

"Yeah? You think so?" 0 sat 4 down on the tile.

7 nodded. "Yeah. I've never seen them get so attached to someone so quickly before."

9 couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" 7 looked at him suspiciously but it looked almost playful.

"I don't think they adopted her as a sister, 7. It looks to me like they're in love with her."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well when we found that old music player remember the Twins kept fighting with each other over who got to dance with her."

"So? They've always bickered like that."

"They're also extremely smart, 7. Think about it."

7 stared at the three, deep in thought. "I think…you are absolutely insane." She finally said in a playful tone.

9 pushed her making her laugh hysterically as she tripped over some cement.


	18. Broken Promise

Everyone was quick to fall asleep except 0. When she knew the Twins wouldn't wake up she snuck away outside where the moon had completely disappeared. With a heavy sigh she looked at the cracked mirror of the talisman. In it she saw herself, sad and mostly alone, and then behind her was 1, holding his staff, his back straighter than a soldiers.

Slowly she turned. She wouldn't look at him. "I failed…" She whispered.

"No, you didn't." 1's voice sounded soft. "You just need to follow my directions precisely."

"So…there's a chance?" Slowly she raised her head to look into 1's eyes.

He nodded. "Yes. But only if you can create a body. Just one body is all we need."

"What about the others?"

"We have agreed that I should be the one to stay behind."

Slowly 0 smiled and ran inside. She knew exactly what kind of materials she should use. She grabbed some burlap, blue strings, and whatever else she could find and got to work.

She was only a third of the way complete when morning came. 0 knew she needed more time. Quickly, she stashed away the materials and what she had done before the group could wake up.

As usual, 9's morning greeting was, "Are you ready to go back?"

"Almost. I just want to do something for them before we leave. I never really got to make a memorial for them."

7 smiled in that motherly way that she did. She put a hand on 0's shoulder and knelt down to be her level. "Of course. We have as long as you need."

She didn't bother making the body while they were awake. She didn't want them asking questions and potentially dragging her back to the city without her mission being completed. 0 tried to act as normal as possible, mostly for the Twins' sake than for hers.

"She seems to be doing a lot better," she heard 9 whisper while 4 played another silent movie for them.

"I hope she is." 7 responded.

When they were asleep again 0 continued on the body. Everything she did was delicate and had a purpose of being where she set it. She made the new body of 1 taller than her, nearly the same height as 9, with a button on the chest to protect it and big arms so that he could defend himself easily. She found an old faded red curtain to be his cape just to add a little bit of flare.

She unbuttoned the button to look on the inside. The wires hung onto nothing to give it power.

1 appeared in front of her when she was finished. "Follow me." He said. "And bring the talisman and the body."

She obeyed, dragging the body as best as she could with the talisman inside and she even brought her sword which she strapped to her back. 1 led her outside and as far into the forest as he felt necessary. 0 was heaving when they finally stopped and she dropped the body.

"Now listen to my instructions very carefully and exactly. Put the blue wire here, the red goes here and the yellow here." He pointed at each wire to each hole of the talisman. "Got it?"

0 nodded. "Yeah." Slowly she started putting the wires in each hole, not noticing that 1 had disappeared until she looked up to see what was next. All was quiet except for the chirping crickets. They must have just arrived.

The body didn't move for several hours. 0 never left its side. She felt something tug at her hand and she jumped. Attached to her wrist was the body of the new stitchpunk, the new body of 1. He stood carefully and moved around, getting a feel for his new body. When he was satisfied he tried to let out a shout but no sound came out. He kept trying to speak but to no avail. No sound would come out.

"Hang on." 0 became excited. She opened herself up and took out the voice box and zipped herself up again. Carefully she placed the voice box inside the doll and tweaked it until she heard a terrifying, male voice that never belonged to the old 1.

"Finally!" He shouted. "And nobody even suspected. I cannot believe that went so well." He jumped around and checked out the stitches. "This body is actually made quite well. Better than what I expected."

The speech patterns didn't sound like 1. It didn't sound like any of them. 0 tried to demand of the stitchpunk who he was but no sound came out. She gave her only means of communication to him.

"What? Oh right you're probably wondering who I really am. I don't really have a name, actually. Although some called me Satan, the devil, a demon, a monster, and some merely call me evil. I am everyone's nightmare."

0 stared at him, horrified. What had she just done? What monster did she release into the world?

The stranger picked up the sword 0 brought with her. He turned it in his hands. "I lived in the talisman for many years. Not once would the human that held it listen to my words and when she threw me out I thought that was the end. And then you came along, new to the world and scared. An easy one to manipulate." He slowly walked close to 0. "I suppose you're gonna try to tell your friends too." 0 wanted to scramble away but her legs wouldn't move and her arms wouldn't defend her body. The knife was plunged into her chest. "But I can't let you do that now or ever, Creator."

Creator? Who was the Creator? Not 0. 0 didn't make anybody except herself. Was he telling her her role? No that can't be it. Creating was the Scientist's role not hers.

He pulled out the knife and she fell to the ground. Before her body shut down she could hear the words, "Protect, inspire, define, teach, guide, lead, defend, guard, save, and create."

They were words she often whispered to herself in the past.


	19. The Scientist Journal last entry

_In her body I have made an emergency shut down switch. In the event 0's body goes through something traumatic her body will give the appearance of death and restart itself hours afterwards. However, I fear this can only be used once but I pray that it should never be used._

 _9, your role is to save us, but not just us humans or the world. Save 0 from whatever lingers in the mirrored talisman that plans on harming her. I heard the voice myself when I carried it. It was tainted with evil things and evil thoughts long before she sucked the Chancellor's evil soul. Never allow 0 to take ahold of the talisman. Never allow 0 to awaken the evil. She is smart but naïve and hopeful and still a child._

He left the notebook out in an obvious place with hopes that 9 would discover it eventually. He opened the hologram box and left his message to 9. Finally he prayed to whatever god that would listen to save the planet from total destruction.

Before he could use up his last moments movement caught his attention. It was 0.

"I want to meet 9." She said softly.

The Scientist smiled at her.

"I'll see you again soon, old man." She tried not to look upset.

"I will see you soon, Maggie."

0 looked confused but that was fine with him. He needed to say her name one more time before his body became a shell. He turned toward the machine and took a deep breath


	20. Evil is Hidden

It seemed like forever ago since they reached Haven but 9 knew it had only been a week. 0 had tried to tell them many times who harmed her but it was hard to believe someone when you truly believe they went insane.

Sometimes 0 would play happily with the Twins and sometimes she would sit somewhere, depressed.

When they found that 0 couldn't speak because her voice box was missing and that she had been stabbed but she wasn't dead 9 took to the last journal entry before the Scientist's death. It didn't explain where her voice box had gone, however, but it did allow him to see why she had survived such a fatal wound. Communication was a lot harder now.

The Twins taught her their language of clicking and flashing lights but the flashing lights hypnotized her if she stared for too long. When communicating with 9 and 7, however, she did it through pantomime or pictures she drew. They reminded 9 of the pictures 6 used to draw.

9 sat in the windowsill of the Scientist's house, watching the horizon and the sun. Next to him was a picture of the stitchpunk she claimed harmed her. On the other side of the picture 7 watched the horizon with him.

"I can't believe the 180 in personality," 7's soft voice broke him away from his thoughts. She continued when she was answered with silence. "She was so happy and now we can hardly get her to do anything."

"I know. It's hard to tell which is her real personality…."

"The Twins bring out her true personality, I think." The sun went down further. "9, I miss the others."

Gently 9 wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her close. "I do too, 7. I miss them too."


	21. Innocence is seen

0 watched the Twins from the bed. They danced outside without a care in the world. Whatever she released made her uneasy. 0 rocked herself from side to side hugging her knees to her chest.

 _If you could see me now, 1_. She wanted to whisper. Somehow she could still feel his presence next to her. His and 8's and 2 and 5 and 6. She liked to imagine they were all protecting her.

The wire that kept her torn leg together was replaced with a beautiful maroon colored string sewn neatly through the burlap skin. It made running with the Twins a lot easier.

"2 would've done a better job," 9 said to her when he patched her up, "Or at least that's what 5 told me."

3 and 4 tapped her head and she looked up. They both brought her presents from outside, clicking their eyes and flashing their lights. She couldn't look directly into their eyes when they did that so instead she listened intently to the number of clicks.

Slowly she clicked her eyes at them in thanks and took the objects. One was a pen from the Scientist's home and the other was a picture of a cat that was torn from a book.

Since they got back the Twins taught her their secret language of eye clicks. She hadn't quite gotten the hang of it yet. Sometimes, out of habit, she attempted to speak only for nothing to come out. Communication was hard. She wondered how the Twins never got so frustrated with people not understanding.

3 set a drawing she made in front of her and pointed at the stitchpunk.

 _I don't know his name,_ she mouthed the words before trying to tell him with the clicks. She did it too slowly for 3 to follow. Thankfully 4 made for a great translator. She told the two the story so many times that she was sure they had it memorized, yet they still asked her questions every now and again. They were the only ones that believed her story.

Without thinking about her actions she hugged 3 and 4. There was no reason for the hug, just that she felt lonely. The presence of the others had gone away. She felt too much alone.

The moon outside was half full. It lit everything outside.

7 peeked her head inside the room. "Hey guys, come see this outside."

Curious, 0 got up and followed 7 with 3 and 4 just behind her. 9 waited for them outside, staring at the sky. The sky was it's normal black with the half moon lighting as much as it could. The stars around it twinkled in their usual spots and along with the normal starry night there were also flashing streaks in the sky.

3 and 4 clicked their eyes and turned to her.

She wrote in the dirt _SHOOTING STAR._

"Shooting star, huh?" 7 folded her arms and watched the sky.

0 took a moment to look at everyone around her. The moment was so peaceful. On the very last shooting star she closed her eyes and wished that this peaceful moment could last forever.


	22. Life goes on

_The camera came on in black and white. At first it was a close up of a young girl's neck and then she backed up and sat on the chair nobody could see. Her hair hadn't been brushed in, perhaps, years and it was in six large dreads._

 _"I think it's on," she whispered nervously to herself and cleared her throat. "If you're watching this it means you found me and you really do care. I didn't want you to throw away your life if this didn't work so I wanted to give mine. I needed to. Before I met you I was miserable. I had a family once, long ago but we were far from the happy family we wanted to be. Because of this my parents died. I won't bore you with the details."_

 _She shifted in the chair and looked down at something in her hand. "We all have roles in this world, my mother used to tell me. There are only 10 main kinds. You're here to protect us or you're here to inspire us or you're here to define or teach us. You're here to guide us or to lead us or to defend us. You're here to guard us or to save us…or to create. The 10 main roles only appear in times of trouble. They are roles I never forget and ones I do not belong in. I am only here to help you."_

 _The girl looked up into the camera. "My name is Maggie, I am a 14-year-old girl making a very adult decision. Soon my soul will be home…" The camera shut off leaving a black screen._

* * *

Slowly the plants came back from wherever they hid, as did the animals that accompanied them. 7 and 9 learned quickly how to defend them from the threats and 3 and 4 learned how far they could wander before running back home. Everything 0 knew as a human was coming back, she should be happy that the sun shined brightly and the night sky was starry and happy. But none of this made her smile like the others.

0 touched her chest where a purple cloth was patched.

 _"Some called me Satan, the devil, a demon, a monster, and some merely call me evil. I am everyone's nightmare."_ His voice rang through her head. His voice was filled with darkness and terror and a perverted happiness mixed in.

3 was the one who proposed they should call him Nightmare. It was the only name that seemed to fit. Who was this Nightmare? What did he want? Was this her role? If it was she wanted to die with Nightmare.

The curtain pulled back revealing the reflection of 7 from the window. "0," her voice was soft, everyone's was. Everyone was afraid that a harsher tone might break her further. "You should come out with us. The Twins miss you."

0 looked down at her hands.

"I know you're depressed because you couldn't raise 1." 7 put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "But that's okay. He's still watching us."

0 nodded and walked slowly outside but she didn't want to go. Still, she forced herself outside into the sun. 3 and 4 stopped chasing each other to look at her then they bound toward her, jumping on her in a hug.

4 clicked slow enough for her to catch what he said. _"Are you feeling better today?"_

She clicked her eyes just as slowly, trying to remember the number of clicks for each word. _"A little."_

4 repeated this back to 3.

9 chuckled as he approached. "You're finally coming out to the land of the living. That's good. You must be feeling a lot better." He put his hand on her shoulder before pulling her into his embrace. She could feel 7 hug her while 9 still hugged her.

Soon 3 and 4 grabbed one of her hands and pulled her away. 0 could hear 7 laughing while she was pulled away.

 _"Back to the records?"_ She asked them.

3 nodded and clicked too quickly for her to follow but she tried anyway. _"…But…7…9…and…."_

4 pushed his twin. _"She can't follow!"_ If they had voices she imagined 4 would be scolding him.

 _"Sorry,"_ 3 looked down, almost embarrassed. _"Yes we are going to the recorder but 4 and I had an idea. About 7 and 9."_

 _"You know the last time you did something with 7 and 9 involved you two wouldn't leave the room for weeks!"_ 0 stopped them just short of the recorder.

 _"But this one is different because you're going to help us."_ They pulled her closer. Near the gramophone stood a table and two chairs with colored wax in the middle of the table.

 _"Hey wait, I wanted to do this idea weeks ago and you two said something about it not working."_ 0 folded her arms.

3 grinned, _"I don't remember that."_

She pushed him as she walked toward the gramophone and turned it on. Claire de Lune played again. _"This was a nice choice, guys."_ She turned to the Twins. _"So what's the plan?"_

The two grinned and started to fill her in.

It took a few more hours to get everything ready. They didn't really need food but 3 and 4 insisted that they do it exactly like in the books they've found a week ago. Whatever they didn't have they attempted to recreate using other things they found.

When they were done 3 and 4 ran off to get 7 and 9. They would come back in different directions. 0 climbed on top of the gramophone with the needle off the recorder. She watched it spin. The wind blew around her, hugging her, caressing her body gently.

The sun was setting. The sky was clear. The scene was perfect.

"Where are we going, 4?" 7's voice came from behind her.

"Give that back, 3!" 9's voice called from in front of her.

0 placed the needle on the record just as everyone emerged from the grass. 7 gasped softly when she took in the scene. 9 just stood, staring.

"Did you three do all of this?" 7 looked from 3 to 4 to 0.

Suddenly 3 and 4 pushed 9 and 7 close together.

9 chuckled nervously. "I think they want us to dance." He mused.

Slowly they started spinning. 0 grabbed 3 and 4's hands and pulled them away to leave the two alone. However, she didn't drag them very far before she stopped to watch them.


	23. Claire De Lune

For some reason 7 wasn't as tense as 9 thought she would be. He was the tense one. They've danced only once before to this song but this dance felt different somehow.

"Well this was nice of them," 9 finally tried to speak as fluently as possible. All language was somehow lost to him.

"I agree. The scene is almost perfect."

"Almost?" He tilted his head. What couldn't be more perfect about this? Romantic music was playing. The sun was down just enough for the light to shine every perfect angle on her face. What about it wasn't right?

"We have 3 pairs of eyes watching us." She nodded over to the three trying to hide but watch them at the same time.

9 chuckled softly.

"Wonder why they would do a thing like this."

If 9 could blush he imagined he would in that moment. Once while 7 was comforting 0 he had mentioned to 3 and 4 how jealous he was and how stupid it seemed that he should be jealous over 0 getting all of 7's attention. However, 9 just shrugged. "Who knows?"

They spun in slow circles. The stars started to come out just as the last of the sun's rays were setting. The colored wax burned low only lighting a certain area that the sun's fingers couldn't touch.

"Aww, what a touching moment."

The voice wasn't familiar to 9 or 7. They stopped short and spun around toward the gramophone where a silhouette stood. The song ended softly.

"Claire de Lune. It really is a romantic song." The stranger took the needle off of the record before jumping down. He was made from burlap and red string. He had no numbers anywhere on his body and on his chest was a button. He was made to look like 1 but he was too burly for that.

They had no weapons but the stranger did. He carried a sword that looked a lot like the one 7 made for 0. Actually, as 9 looked closer he realized, it was the exact same one she made for 0.

7 turned around to look for 0, 3, and 4. By her sigh of relief 9 could guess that they were gone.

9 stepped in front of 7. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"Me? Oh why should that matter? I thought you would be pleased to find another one of your kind." The stranger stepped closer. Instinctively 9 stepped back. "You are scared of me." He mused aloud.

"9, doesn't he look familiar?" 7 whispered to him.

"No, should he?"

"He looks like the one in 0's drawings." She continued to whisper while they slowly backed away but with each step they took back the stranger took two forward with his sword out until the tip reached 9's chest.

"Where is the one you call 0?" He demanded.

"Why would we tell you a thing like that?" 7 growled.

The stranger moved the tip from 9 to 7, grinning. "Well don't we have a feisty cat? Because if you don't bring me 0 I cannot promise your family getting out alive."

9 was so close. He could grab the sword. He did. 9 grabbed it and tried to yank it away but the stranger was too strong for him alone. The stranger yanked back his sword and swung it at 9's arm nearly cutting it clean.

"That was just a warning. I don't miss twice, 9." He spit out the name as if it were some form of poison. "Bring me 0 by sundown or you'll be one person short. I think I'll start with those bratty twins." He started to back away.

"Who are you?" 9 demanded again.

He just smirked. "Ask 0. I think she's given me a name. You can tell me when you ask." Then he disappeared into the shadows and into the night. When his presence was gone 7 bolted for the direction they last saw the others with 9 just behind her. When they found them 0 was holding 3 and 4 protectively with her eyes closed tightly.

"0, it's me." 7 said gently before putting a hand on hers.

0's eyes snapped open and she looked up at 7 and 9.


	24. Nightmare and Knight

0 hid in her room as soon as they got home. She didn't want to be followed by the others but she was anyway. 7 and 9 kept apologizing the whole way home but what did they have to apologize for? It was her fault Nightmare was unleashed upon the world.

"0, who was that?" 7 asked.

0 wrote in the ground slowly NIGHTMARE.

3 and 4 clicked quickly to each other.

 _"We can't let her be taken by him!"_ She heard 3 say. She finally understood him but the rest of the sentences were lost.

"What does he want?" 9 asked them.

0 shrugged. _"I wish I knew."_ She clicked knowing full well 9 didn't understand her.

7 spoke loud to be heard over the clicking of 3 and 4, "We won't let anything happen to you guys. We'll figure out how to beat him."

This calmed the Twins but it didn't calm her. She turned to 3 and 4 and forced a grin. _"I guess their date was ruined today. We'll have to do it another time."_

Even though their main concern wasn't 7 and 9's "date" they grinned anyway.

"Sometimes I wonder what they talk about," 7 folded her arms and leaned against the wall.

"I think sometimes we're better not knowing."

Late into the night, 0 was lying down on the bed with 3 and 4 next to her, watching the window cautiously. She was determined not to sleep. Her arms tightened around the Twins. This was her fault. Why should they have to suffer for her mistake?

Slowly, so as not to wake the Twins, she got up from the bed and watched them until they settled back into a different position. Out in the hall was 7's spear, which she grabbed before heading outside.

The moon was hidden behind clouds but it's light was still visible. Every now and again there was a break in the clouds that allowed her to see everything around her. Where would she even find Nightmare? The only place she could think to look was the gramophone.

0 walked blindly into the night until she came across the gramophone. She remembered when had Nightmare appeared she hid with the Twins and hoped that he wouldn't find them. He never did and she was grateful for that.

Nothing had been touched since the meeting. Slowly she turned to take in the scene. It would have been a magical night for 9 and 7 if Nightmare hadn't shown up.

The sound of a flute made her jump and her mouth flew open to scream but none came out. When she turned she saw the gramophone playing and on top of it was a silhouette. 0 held the spear in front of her but she was shaking.

"How can you expect to fight me when you're shaking like that?" Nightmare demanded before jumping between her and the gramophone.

The song was slow and almost like a lullaby. Something in her spirit was calmed but also at attention. It made her shake more. Nightmare started walking toward her.

 _Stay back,_ she tried saying. 0 jabbed the spear in his direction until it nearly came in contact with his throat but for some reason she couldn't get it through. It was like an invisible hand was stopping her from doing it.

"You won't hurt me. You don't have it in you. You never did." He grabbed the end of the spear and jerked it toward himself. 0 had no choice but to let go or be dragged toward him with the spear. "This is nicely made for someone with limited abilities."

0 started walking backwards but something stopped her. She was afraid to turn around. It couldn't have been a rock it was much too soft for that but it was too hard to be a plant.

While Nightmare ignored her, he was too distracted by the spear, she quickly turned to come face to face with her adversary. It was made exactly like the stitchpunks but it was bigger and far stronger. Another break in the clouds let the pale light shine on it. It looked almost exactly like 8! If 0 could gasp she probably would have.

"Meet Knight 8, or K8 for short." Nightmare's voice was almost pleased. "He's here to make sure you don't go anywhere."

When 0 turned around the tip of the spear was right between her eyes.

"Why didn't you die the first time?" He growled at her.

Why didn't she die? She remembered what 9 told her about the Scientists planting something that would force a shut down and made her fake death for hours.

She clutched at the bone necklace and imagined each spirit she thought she was freeing from the mirror talisman.

"It doesn't matter now. We'll find out when you die this time." Nightmare pulled back to stab.

0 ducked underneath the spear and scrambled in a blind direction but before she could get far the K8 grabbed her ankle and jerked her back. K8 had a hole where the spear went through. Why didn't he die?

"Hold her down!" Nightmare demanded.

She struggled underneath the strength of K8. She wriggled and kicked but nothing would make him let go. He was able to hold down her torso. She kept punching and struggling and wriggling but nothing would free her now. From the heavens a knife nearly took off her head. She was close enough to see the startled reflection of Nightmare and her own startled reflection. The knife forced K8 to let go of her.

"Get away from her!" 9's voice yelled.

While the two were distracted 0 scrambled away and cowered behind 9. What was she thinking coming out here alone?


	25. The Video

7 wasn't too far behind 9 when they left. Until she was positioned perfectly he was alone to protect 0. The young stitchpunk cowered behind him, her hand was on his shoulders and he was sure she kept trying to say something but without her voice box it was impossible to know what it was.

Nightmare wasn't alone like they thought. He had a burly guard with him. It looked like 8. But it didn't make a sound. Its mouth was stitched shut.

"I'll let you handle this, K8." Nightmare said. "But don't kill 0. I want that pleasure." He started to walk away. The direction he was walking in there were two silhouettes. Their hunched bodies looked like 2 and 6.

When 9's focus shifted K8 attacked with only half of a scissor. 9 blocked the attack with his knife.

He couldn't push back K8. 9 was pushed back and he stumbled into a rock. Before the large stitchpunk could take off his head 9 ducked and stabbed him in the belly. K8 didn't seem to take notice. He backhanded 9 away. 9's head hit the ground, stunning him, his head didn't clear until K8 lifted him up by the loose burlap on his chest just above the zipper. The only protection 9 had was gone. The damage that was delt to K8 only left a huge hole that exposed the wires.

K8 held the sharp end of a scissor to his neck.

Where was 7?

A whizzing sounded by his head and caught K8 in the head. 9 was dropped while the big stitchpunk stumbled backward. 9 reached in and pulled out the wires, deactivating the body. He watched K8 fall back with a thud. The wires hung lifeless in his hand.

Moments later 7 ran up with 0. Immediately 9 started to inspect 0. 7 probably did the same thing but he had to be sure. "What is wrong with you?" He finally yelled. "Why did you come out here alone?"

7 walked to the body and pulled out her spear.

0 looked down and made a shrug motion with her shoulders.

"We're glad you're okay," 7 told her. "But why would you come here alone?"

She bit her lip as hard as she could. 0 grabbed their hands and slowly lead them back home. She always had a hard time communicating since she lost her voice box. Sometimes 3 and 4 could translate easier and sometimes it was easier for her to write out what she thought. Unlike 3 and 4 she wasn't made to project anything.

The Twins ran out, their pleased and relieved faces made apparent by the sun's bright hands. They nearly tackled her but she stopped them before that could happen. The three started clicking to each other, talking in their secret language. How hard was it for 0 to learn that language?

4 caught 9's attention by pulling on his and 7's hands and he turned and projected a movie at the wall. It wasn't a movie it was a home video that they've never seen before. There was a woman dressed much like the scientist sitting in a chair. Because of the black and white image it was hard to tell what color it used to be but they could tell she had light hair and extremely dark eyes that nearly blended in with the pupils.

 _"Alright I think I have it. Maggie, if you are watching this then the experiment was an obvious success and you should NEVER keep this talisman on hand. I worked a great deal to keep you safe from harm."_

The image turned to some pictures of the mirror talisman and it's uses.

 _"I created this from a magic-science called Alchemy. The mirror holds the spirits and the front of it releases them. How many spirits it can hold is an unknown fact. I created it to keep you safe from the evil we've somehow surrounded ourselves with. It only sucks out the evil in people's souls', however, what is left behind is a coward or a shell of a body. As long as you have no evil intentions, my Maggie, it will never harm you. But you should NEVER release the souls into the world. Instead I want you to throw it out. I have left you a Cat Beast that the talisman should attach to. The creature is made by my own hands and has parts of my mind. It'll know to keep it away. And, Maggie, choose your friends carefully."_ The woman had a sad look on her face. A tear streaked down from her eyes. _"And remember that I love you, okay? Nobody will ever harm you like that again."_ There was even a date stamped in the corner of the "screen." The date was a time when the Machine was still being created. Who was this woman?

0 caught 4 quickly with 3.

Maggie was the name that the Scientist often connected with 0's name. They were the same person at one time.

"So you released the soul." 9 said slowly. When 0 nodded he continued, "And you felt responsible."

0 nodded again.

7 hugged her. "Oh dear," she whispered, "this isn't just your burden."

0 pushed her away and nodded and clicked furiously.

"It isn't just your burden," 7 repeated, "It is all of ours. He's threatening all of us and when that happens it becomes all of our burdens not just yours."

9 folded his arms and thought back to the burly stitchpunk and the other figures he saw. They looked exactly like 8 and 6 and 2. Was this Nightmare really able to bring back their friends? If that were the case why didn't they remember him? Why did they attack him and 0? If 8 really did meet 0 he wouldn't have attacked her.

0 tugged on his arm forcing him to snap out of his thoughts. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. She wanted to be comforted. 9 Slowly pat her back.

"We'll fix this problem, 0. It won't be a problem soon.


	26. What do I do

0 watched the world outside move and sway. Time was a cruel god that kept the earth from comforting her children. How could nothing stop or allow her to move back in time to correct her mistakes? How could the cruel gods that foretold the destruction of humans still be alive with the stitchpunks?

While nobody was paying attention she snuck out to wander. She knew she shouldn't go too far from everyone while Nightmare was somewhere around. So she only went as far as the Scientist's house.

She remembered when he was alive. He was so kind to her. Somehow she recognized him immediately when she shouldn't have been able to. The house was always a mess with papers and detailed drawings of 1 through 9.

Nothing changed about his home, except he wasn't at the window to greet her. The books on the shelf were neatly set up, some were haphazardly strewn across the floor, and the papers were scattered in random areas.

0 remembered everything like it was a dream. Why did she have to wake up?

3 clicked behind her. _"What did you come here for?"_

0 turned around to the Twins. He was getting better at clicking slower. _"I'm not sure. It was the first place I could think of."_ She admitted. Out of habit she rubbed her throat, where the sound would come out of her mouth. Sometimes she missed her voice box and sometimes she simply didn't care that it was gone.

4 clicked slower than he needed to, _"Do you still remember this place? I barely remember it!"_

 _"Not much has changed in the past few years. Where did you find that video?"_

 _"In the library,"_ 4 answered. _"Why?"_

 _"I wanted to find more."_ 0 imagined herself sighing audibly, it filled the silent void sometimes. Where did Maggie live? Did the Scientist know? Her body immediately moved. The world around her suddenly didn't exist. There were only her and the books she tore through for any signs of a map or a dot or a marker or anything that he may have used to note where Maggie's house was.

There was nothing except for a map with faded colors and dots and lines and the only legible thing written was KEY in big bold letters. 0 frowned and threw the map. It was useless.

3 and 4 put a hand on her shoulders. _I can't do anything to help,_ she thought harshly. If she said it aloud 3 and 4 would scold her again and she didn't feel like going through that at this time.

 _"I need 7,"_ she stumbled through the clicks, trying to rush them out before the thought left her.

 _"Why? What do you plan?"_ 4 translated 3's rushed clicks.

 _"I need her to show me how to fight. If I come across Nightmare again and she isn't around I need to know how to defend myself properly."_ 0 climbed up through the window.

The sun was at its highest seat in the heavens but their shadows peeked out from under them. On their way home they picked up two sticks that closely resembled swords. 7 and 9 were outside spreading out paper with faded lines and colors and dots like the maps they found in the Scientist's house.

When they approached she looked up and smiled. "You guys are okay!" She exclaimed but her happy look quickly turned into confusion when 0 threw the stick in front of her. "What's this?"

0 didn't know how to tell her. She looked at 3 and 4 who shrugged. What else could she do but attack her? Reluctantly she swung the stick at 7. It had a low whiz sound and a whack sound told them she picked up the stick and defended herself.

"What's going on?" She demanded.

A light went on in 9's mind. "I think she wants to fight you."

0 nodded when 7 looked up at her with a questioning look. She wanted to ask more questions but it seemed useless since she couldn't talk in long explanations anymore. Whatever question she had she temporarily dropped and lunged at her. 7 was able to easily pin 0 on her back. In a few swift motions she had hit the stick to 3 and 4's feet and had her stick against 0's chest.

"We'll do it tomorrow. I'll teach you how to fight." 7 stood and helped 0 to stand.

0 mouthed the word "okay" as she nodded. She didn't mean to mouth the word, it came out from habit.


End file.
